Bench for lens-grinding machines



April 27, 1926. 1,582,100

C. J. TROPPMAN A BENCH FOR LENS GRINDING MACHINES Original Filed April 7 1923 [NVENTOR Patented Apr. 27, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATIENT oFF1cE.

CHARLES J, TROPPMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY, OF SOUTI-IBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

BENCH iron LENS-GRINDING MACHINES.

Original ap'plication filed April 7, 1923, Serial No. 630,471.. Divided and this application filed'N'ovember 25, 1924. Serial No. 752,167.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. TROPPMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Benches for Lens- Grinding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in work machine supporting benches and has particular reference to a bench for supporting lens surfacing and grinding machines.

In plants engaged in the commercial production of ophthalmic lenses it is the custom to mount several lens grinding or surfacing machines on'one bench, or in other cases, to mount each of these machines on a separate bench and then arrange these benches in rows. In either case, however there has seldom been any thought given to standardization of parts on these benches, inasmuch as each bench was constructed locally for the particular installation desired. The result ant assortment of variously constructed benches has made thealteration or enlargement of the average plant a rather expensive of benches as an entirety, or at least parts of a good many benches, and in addition to this it has been necessary to construct new benches tofit into the newvconditions in the a plant. It is therefore a most important object of my invention to provide a universal mounting bench'capable of use in any plant,

composed of certain standardized units so that similar units from a number of benches may be interchangeably used.

A further object of my invention is to provide a universal" mounting bench composed of standardized interchangeable units which may be assembled in various ways depending upon local conditions in the plant in which it is to be installed.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a universal mounting bench composed of certain standard units that may be made vas units in a plant properly equipped with means for making benches of this character and thatmay be shipped as such units to the plant at which the benches are to be assembled and there quickly and easily assembled into a bench conforming to the shape desired for that particular installation.

A still further object of myinvention is to provide a universal mounting bench composed of units from which several different assemblies may be made and by which the completed bench may be easily adjusted in many ways to adapt it to specific plant requirements.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent during the course of the following description when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings.

The subject matter of this invention is disclosed" in my copending application for lens grinding machines, filed April 7, 1923, Ser. No. 630,471, but is not claimed therein, the present application being a division of said application. s

In the drawings. wherein like numerals are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout all views of the same: task inasmuch as it nearly always necessitates the scrapping of either a large number Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bench constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the same illustrating the adjustment possibilities of the component units.

Referring now particularly to the drawing wherein I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates a pair of main supporting standards connected together by the horizontal bars 6 adjacent the top of the front and rear sides of the benches The standards 5 com-- prise leg portions 7 preferably of T-shaped cross section, a transverse connecting bar 8 adjacent the top end and a transverse brace bar 9 adjacent to but spaced from the lower end. For each bench there will be provided a pair of these standards 5, and while each standard may, as shown in the drawing, be cast integrally, it is to be understood that they may be made of separate pieces fastened to ether by bolts, rivets, or any other suitable means, Mounted upon the standards t and supporting the grinding element 10 is a top 11 provided with a series of holes 20 adjacent each end, whereby it may be secured in any one of several positions on the standards 5 by aligning certain of the holes 20 with similar holes carried by the cross bar 8 and then securing the two units together by bolts or other detachable fastening means. Mounted above the top 11 and adapted to support, if desired, an electric motor such as 12, is a shelf 13 provided with the supporting frame 14:. The frame 1 1 comprises a pair of uprights 15, transverse connecting bars 16 adjacent the top and a transverse connecting bar 17 adjacent the lower end to form a base for the entire support 14. Carried by the connecting bar 17 and supported directly beneath the shelf 13 are a number of longitudinally extending conduits 18, by which water, electric current, etc., may be supplied to each bench.

It is a feature of this invention to provide the ends of these conduits with some well known type of universal coupling whereby the conduits on one bench may be quickly attached to the conduits on another bench where two or more of these benches are arranged in a row. The uprights 15 of the standards 1 1v may be provided with longitudinally extending brace members 19 whose shape, if desired, may take the form of conduits and thus aid the conduits 18 in supply i11 the grinding machine 10 with light and necessary materials. The top 11 of the bench is provided as before mentioned with the openings 20 while each of the bases 17 of the frames 14 are likewise provided with a series of similar openings '21 whereby the top 11 in the bases 17 may be bolted together in any one of several adjusted positions as shown clearly in Figure 2 of the drawing. Mounted on the cross braces of the standards 5 are plates 22 capable of adjijistmeut longitudinally to the braces 9 and provided with the detachable shaft bearings 23 for supporting the shafts 241-, and 26, respectively, in any one of several positions.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a. benchfor ophthahuic lens manufacturing plants that may bemanufactured as a number of units in one place, sold and shipped as such units and then assembled at the plant where it is to be used in any one of several desired forms,

It will further be seen that I have provided a bench having suflicient possibleadjust-merits to make the adaptation of the bench to any plant regardless of specific local conditions a simple matter. A bench constructed in accordance with my invention will be both strong and durable and will be economical in that it is possible to replace broken or worn-out parts by new parts without necessitating the installation of an entire new bench. \Vhile I have shown and described but one form of my invention which I prefer to consider as the preferred embodiment of the same, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make certain minor departures therefrom in so far as I remain within the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim is:

1. A machine bench comprising a structural metal strip frame work having upright leg members, table cover supports at the top of the legs and cross braces on the ends adjacent the bottom of the legs, the end table cover supports and the cross braces having a series of holes arranged along their length, a table cover having a series of holes adjacent its ends matching the holes in the table cover supports, separable locking members through the holes in the table cover supports locking the cover to the supports, shaft blocks having a shaft opening and retaining holes arranged to match the holes in the cross braces, separable locking members through the retaining holes in the shaft blocks and the cross braces locking the shaft blocks to the cross braces and a shaft extending through the shaft openings in the shaft blocks from one cross brace to the other, said retainingholes in the shaft blocks being adapted to match any desired holes in the cross braces to locate the shaft blocks in any desired location between the legs.

2. A machine bench comprising a structural metal strip frame work having upright leg members, table cover supports at the top of the legs, the end table cover supports having a series of holes arranged along their length, a table cover having a series of holes adjacent its ends snatching the holes in the table cover supports, locking members through some of the holes in the table covers and the table cover supports locking the cover and supports together, a structural metal strip super structure above the table cover having a shelf spaced above the cover and end supports for the shelf resting on the table cover, said end supports having a series of holes matching the holes in the end of the table core and locking members through some of the holes in the end supports and table cover locking the two together. said end supports adapted to be positioned in any desired position on the ends of the table cover by matching the desired holes in the end supports and table cover and locking the two members together therethrough.

A machine bench comprising a structural metal strip frame work having upright leg members, table cover supports at the top of the legs and cross braces adjacent the bottom of the legs, the cross braces havin 2 series of holes arranged along their length,

shaft blocks having a shaft opening and retainingholes arranged to match the holes in the cross braces, separable looking members through the retaining holes in the shaft I 5 blocks and the cross braces locking the shaft blocks to the cross braces, a shaft extending through the shaft openings in the shaft blocks from one Cross brace to the other,

said retaining holesin the shaft blocks boing adapted to match any desired holes in the cross braces to look the shaft blocks in any desired location between the legs.

CHARLES arnorrnan. 

